Whirling Dervishes
A "Tall Painting" is more about style than proportions.
Apparently it doesn't matter how sad you are, eating a whole gallon of ice cream isn't okay.
Ever wonder how a book is made?
Ever wonder why an old book smells (so good)?
John Green discusses the Fall of the Roman Empire, the patriarchy of pants and the history of sport riots in the newest episode of Crash Course
Minute Physics explains that there is no "Fourth Dimension"
Passing Stranger: 'East Village Poetry Walk', narrated by film director Jim Jarmusch, is a free guided audio tour of New York's East Village which was home to many American poets throughout the years, including Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman.
Anne Sexton reads "Portrait of an Old Woman on the College Tavern Wall"
A stunning photo of Saturn and its six moons
'Caring for Your Introvert' is a great article about the challenges introverts face in an extroverted society
The American Nazi Party registers its first Washington lobbyist, anyone want to move to Canada?
Contrary to popular belief the United States gets most (33%) of its oil domestically, only 12% of its oil is imported from the Middle East.
Jeff Bezos plans to recover at least one of the four Apollo 11 rocket engines from the ocean floor, each weighing 9 tons.
Why does North Korea suck at launching rockets? Simply put, they have no idea what they're doing.
I am honored to present to you the 'Phil Collins Button,' appropriate for all occasions and life events
Nyan Waits needs no introduction.
Inspecting the overlooked
I feel that I didn't give 'Botanicula' the appropriate amount of attention last week, so I'll rectify that now.
'Botanicula' is an point-and-click adventure game by the studio Amanita Design, creators of another game called 'Machinarium' as well as the film 'Kooky'. The studio is known for its beautiful, hand crafted artwork and simplistic gameplay designs and storytelling. I am a huge fan of this studio and highly recommend all of their work (I would especially recommend that everyone check out 'Kooky,' it's magnificent).
Now for something completely Radiolab
Any attempt to summarize Radiolab will only cause gross injustice. What I can say is it's a radio show/podcast dedicated to curiosity, creativity, the human condition, science and discovering how all of that connects and intertwines with one another.
Below are a handful of episodes I recommend (a cheat sheet for those who don't know, a greatest hits for those in the know). Every episode is available for free on their website, bookmark it!
Detective Stories
Time
Deception
Choice
Stochasticity
After Life
Shorts: Gone
Parasites
Words (Bonus Video)
Mirror, Mirror
Desperately Seeking Symmetry (Bonus Video)
Patient Zero
Shorts: Death Mask
Guts
Speaking of Radiolab, the co-host Robert Krulwich has a science blog at NPR which is equally as fascinating.
On the topic of podcasts, there are a few more podcasts I recommend checking out, the first being Philosophy Bites which, as the title suggests, is a philosophy audio file that discusses various topics within the subject and interviews many contemporary philosophers about said topics (contrary to popular belief, not all philosophers wear robes).
Then there's IndieFeed: Performance Poetry which showcases performance/slam poets, new and old, from all over the galaxy. The website is a bit messy but it's the only way to find all of its episodes (it recently celebrated its 1000th show).
Finally there's Rum Doings which is a tad more eccentric than all the others but who doesn't like that?! It has two British gentlemen, one of which is John Walker (writer for Rock, Paper, Shotgun), drinking rum and discussing various topics with the most witty of banter for forty-five minutes. It's a great audio experience and is one of my favorites.
All of these can be found through iTunes (which is recommended since, excluding Radiolab, their websites are horrible to navigate).
Something of Inspiration
Gabrielle Bouliane performs "Life Sentence," a piece not so much about her illness but how no one should ever waste what little time they might have, regardless of how difficult things may seem. This was her last public performance.
Reserved Vernacular
Ambitions have a habit of losing themselves in explanations.
Have suggestions? Articles? Awesome recommendations? Contact me: eccentricenlightenment@gmail.com
Enjoy the newsletter? Cool! Send it to a friend (or twenty).
